God is everywhere!

We are very blessed here in Minnesota with the remarkable changes in seasons. In the spring, the green, green leaves and trees, the melting of the ice on the lakes giving way to crystal clear blue water, the sudden popping up of daffodils and tulips almost before all the snow has melted, all lift our spirits with signs of new life after the seemingly endless cold, dark winter months. In summer, the smell of freshly mowed grass, the birds singing their lovely songs, the thunder storms all point to a microcosm of us living our lives...work, rest, turbulent times, songs of praise. The fall brings its own special blessings. The vibrancy of the colors of the leaves, their brilliant reds, oranges and yellows, easily can take my breath away at the beauty of it all. Winter is the most awesome! There are mornings in winter when we can look up to see a veritable winter wonderland scene. There are two kinds: one, when it's warm enough that the snowflakes are wet with moisture, clinging to the trees and the other when it's colder and the snow freezes into ice, forming an incredible layer of frozen crystals on the trees that shimmer so brilliantly you wonder if it's real. These always, without fail, take my breath away and I exclaim to myself, "THIS is why I live here!" Those days are truly gifts!

How can someone experience the wonders of nature and not think that God exists? I have a friend who now declares himself an atheist. He grew up in a big Irish Catholic family, went to Catholic schools but, in the ensuing years since then, he decided the Faith he'd been taught was not for him. When he told me this and that he didn't believe in "fairy tales", I cried for weeks. Oh, how I wished he could know God as I know him, or at least in his own way! I pray for him, that he will have a change of heart and that he will seek God. After all, Jesus promised, "Seek and ye shall find".

There is so much beauty in the world, it's unfathomable to me that not everyone can believe it all comes from God. Not only is there nature's beauty but every single person is a gift from God. I wouldn't know how to explain it other than with a God standard.

Yes, I know there are natural, devastating disasters that occur, which can make us wonder. Certainly a God who is only good wouldn't allow those, would He? Well, I know that God allows them for a good purpose. From my limited perspective, what I've seen is how people come together in times of crises with offers to help victims. (Yesterday, thousands of people, strangers mostly, descended upon North Minneapolis, where a tornado had hit a couple weeks ago, to work clearing debris and rebuilding.) These become opportunities for us to figure out what is truly important in life. They are opportunities to grow closer to God. And, out of them, we can be changed for the better. Our hearts can be softened and formed in the likeness of God. They are times for us to experience God's presence more fully in our lives.

I don't think I fully realize what a gift faith is. It's always been a part of me. I've never needed to question it. There have been times I didn't do so well with it but there was never a time I thought there was no God. I hold a baby and I know there is. I look up to the sky and see the stars so radiant in their brilliance and I know. I drive through a forest of trees, shimmering with hoarfrost on a cold winter morning, and I know. My grandson writes little, "I love you, Nana" notes and I know. I experience the Consecration during Mass and I know. There is no other explanation for all the beauty around me. God is here!